Jaska

[Pebbles82]

He is so gorgeous! Yes he does look like a mini black Syrian Are you sure he's not using the flying saucer? I ask because when Charlie had one it always ended up with bits in the middle like that. Maybe you just don't hear him using it. You could do a test and put a piece of substrate on the top edge and see if it's gone in the morning. I guess it could get knocked off - so maybe a mark on the top edge - a scratch or something. Love the little car mechanic imagery!

[BorisPasha]

Thanks SKB, Cypher and Serendipity.

That's a good idea Serendipity, I thinnk I'll mark his saucer and see what happens. I just assumed he wasn't using it as Boris and Pasha used to pee in their wheels to begin with and it doesn't look like Jaska has but then maybe he's more sensible :P

I weighed him on Saturday and he is 28g, he's only 4/5 months so I guess he'll still have some growing to do. He just seems so small, but then Boris and Pasha take chunky to a whole new level!

[cypher]

Aww he really is tiny, no wonder he seems fragile compared to Boris & Pasha, some do seem to grow slower than others & some just never get that big, does he eat well?

They don't all pee in the wheel so he could still be using it when no one's looking!

[BorisPasha]

Yes he seems to eat well enough and he gets some extra mealworms each day, he doesn't eat those grass pellets though but don't think any hamster does lol. I should probably think about replacing them with something else.

Had marked his saucer and the mark is in the same place I might look in to getting an enclosed wheel and see if he prefers that.

[cypher]

I don't think any hams eat those pellets either! I'm not sure there's much you can replace them with really, it must lower the overall protein & fibre of the mix when those are taken out though.
Does he have chicken at all?
Maybe just some extra seeds would build him up a bit if he doesn't have them already, hemp & flax are good, oats are too if he'll eat them.

I do think it's a good idea to try another wheel, some love the flying saucers but others don't really take to them so much, it can be a bit of a guessing game sometimes.

[Thin Lizzy]

Because he's so small, he'll be very quiet on the wheel. You could try the flying saucer and see how he reacts to it.

[BorisPasha]

Thanks all.

I've been giving him some extra seeds each day and oats also. He sits nicely on my hand to eat them all lol.

I haven't actually tried him with chicken so that's a good idea. I usually only see him in the morning though and he's not out again until after we've gone to bed. Maybe I'll keep back a bit chicken for him to try if we've had it for our tea.

I've ordered him a silent runner so we'll see what he think of that when it arrives, hopefully it will encourage him to start using it. I feel bad for not getting him out for playtime but he's so skittish that I think it would just really stress him out.

[cypher]

Aww bless him sitting on your hand to eat his little extras
Hope he likes the chicken when he gets to try it & the new wheel, they do spin very easily so even being small he shouldn't have trouble using it & he may feel nice & safe in there.

Don't feel bad for not getting him out, although having said that I tend to as well even though I know Tinwë really doesn't like it (my last attempt just set him right back) & Flynt was the same, both home boys enjoying cuddles & treats but not that big world outside the cage!

[BorisPasha]

Jaska's new wheel has arrived, he was very scared of it but he's scared of everything and anything including his own shadow. Had to put a sunflower seed in it to persuade him to have a look at which he quickly grabbed before making a hasty retreat to the safety of his cardboard log :P

Not sure if he's used the wheel yet but I did notice this morning that the join was in a different place so fingers crossed!

[cypher]

Aww bless him! I hope he can overcome his fear, it sounds as though he might have given it a sneaky go in the night!
He looks soooooo cute in that second photo!